


a strange and magical place

by NorthStar



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drabble Series, Everyone is Part of the Pack, Gen, Idiots, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, and also gay af, vitriolic best friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 16:19:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7368859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NorthStar/pseuds/NorthStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fantasy AU in which the boys are up to strange shenanigans. </p><p>None of them knows how veteran Hyunwoo came to lead the group of strange and misplaced individuals. But at the end of the day they are still happy to be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fire

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted on livejournal under wakinghyde.
> 
> but I guess this fandom is mostly alive on ao3, anyway.
> 
> first installment in my monsta x fantasy!au, bc i kinda need a break from all these depressing wips i've got going on, and every good fandom needs a fantasy au.
> 
> the drabbles/one-shots will not be posted chronologically and are largely unrelated, though they may occasionally reference incidences or characters from other installments. if the timing is of relevance to the content, i will indicate this in the author's note.
> 
> i wasn't going to include a list of the boys and their background/skills, as hope the relevant points will come across in the story, but if it becomes too confusing i'll give a brief list.
> 
> on pairings: I enjoy this ot7 so much i have a hard time separating ships, but i may add some with time. the only reason i added minhyuk/hyungwon already is because i could literally ship minhyuk with the moon bc he is a baby, so this is mostly to rein myself in.
> 
> also: not too much jooheon and kihyun in this chapter, but they are gonna be so prominent in future installments that i believe this is excusable.
> 
> please enjoy, don't forget to leave a comment if this au appeals to you!

“So I have a suggestion,” Hoseok says as they stop by a small stream to refill their waterskins. No one pays him any heed, except for Hyunwoo, who raises his eyebrow briefly to urge him on. ”We’re not going to make it to Rhinvale tonight, so how about we just find a nice spot around here to make camp? Summer will be over soon, we might as well enjoy the last warm days before the weather turns.”

“The elf is right,” Minhyuk quips and sits down heavily as Hoseok scowls in his general direction. “I quite like it here. Idyllic, and all.”

“No ale, though,” Jooheon points out, but there’s not enough disappointment in his voice to be taken seriously. “Say, Kihyun, I don’t suppose you could – “

“No,” Kihyun is shaking his head before Jooheon has even had the chance to finish his request. He hands a exchanges a waterskin with Changkyun, who is trying to lure their pony to the stream for a sip. “I can’t endorse magic ale because it will never be as good as the real deal, and I’d rather preserve the dream in my head than settle for a second-rate option.”

“Hey, I can make some – “

“No Minhyuk, the stuff you concoct is not ale, it’s poisonous water. You’re a shit mage.”

“Excuse you – “

“Kids, please,” Hyunwoo sighs and looks at the unruly group. Sometimes he doesn’t understand how it is possible to be so exasperated and fond simultaneously. He chalks it up to brilliant multitasking skills.

“Who are you calling a kid?” Hoseok snorts at Hyunwoo. “I’m at least 700 years older than you – “

“Hasn’t Hyunwoo been in two wars recently?” Minhyuk ponders out loud. “I don’t remember you doing anything – “

“Because unlike you uncivilized humans, us elves don’t fight all the time – “

“All of my experiences with you contradict that statement – “

Hyungwon tugs at Minhyuk’s sleeve softly to get his attention. It shuts him up like a charm, and he looks at Hyungwon expectantly, but Hyungwon is looking at Hoseok instead.

“Don’t listen to Minhyuk,” he says quietly, but the mischievous glint in his eyes is plain for everyone to see. “He’s just scared he’ll be wrinkled and ugly when he’s 700.”

Hoseok falls to the ground with a hearty laugh, but Minhyuk looks scandalized and shifts away from Hyungwon with a betrayed yelp.

“Hyungwon, I thought you were on my side!” He wails. “And when I’m 700 I’m gonna be dead and buried for quite a few centuries, because humans kind of don’t turn 700, you imbeciles! We die!”

At this point Hyunwoo enlists Jooheon to help him forcibly separate them long enough to send the group searching for an appropriate campsite. He stays behind in a comfortable and refreshing silence with Changkyun, whose attention is mostly focused on the dark brown pony he stupidly let Hyungwon name ‘Baby’ because he thought it was a young foal due to its short height. No one had the heart to point out the silly name back then, and he thinks it has grown on Changkyun, if nothing else.

Then again. He’s pretty sure the youngest traveller is just generally smitten with the pony and everything that comes with it.

He kind of knows the feeling.

Jooheon returns with the most promising spot, a scuffed little corner further upstream with remains from previous campers, including a couple of big logs and a circular stone arrangement suitable for a small fire. They all agree it is one of their most fortune resting places as of late, partially shielded by a large oak with thick leaves and long branches, and close enough to the river that they can use as much water as they would like.

Even Minhyuk and Hoseok seem to share an opinion on their little site.

It doesn’t take long to unload their packs and set up the essentials around the fireplace, and Baby the pony sighs appreciatively as the heavy load is separated from her back. Changkyun pats her fondly before starting to brush out some of the sweat and knots from a long day’s march.

“I hope I can find someone who looks at me like Changkyunnie looks at his pony some day,” Hoseok remarks wryly as he puts down some dry wood between the rocks. “They’re easily the most romantic couple I’ve ever seen.”

“700 years of competition, washed away by a boy and his pony,” Jooheon laments, settling down next to his backpack. “What a sad and loveless world we live in. I can’t even imagine – “ he cuts himself off with a startled yelp as a twitching fish falls into his lap.

Kihyun chuckles as he walks past, looking infinitely pleased with himself. “Jooheon, for a thief, you’re so easy to surprise. Are you sure you’re as sneaky as you say?”

“Well, you see, the thing about thieves is that we usually do the sneaking.” Jooheon wrinkles his nose and tosses the fish at Hyungwon, who doesn’t even blink before starting to gut the fish. “Also, I thought I was amongst friends. But I see I’m mistaken.”

“You said it yourself, this really is a loveless world,” the mage shrugs with a smile. “Hyunwoo is still fishing, but we need some more firewood as well. Care to join me?”

“I’d come, but Hyungwon is teaching me how to prepare fish,” Minhyuk says quickly and tries to cover Hyungwon’s surprised face with his hand. “Sorry. Busy. Very important.”

Since no one expected anything else, no energy is wasted on a single eyeroll.

“I’ll come,” Jooheon grunts. He makes his best old man impression as he slowly stands up and grabs at his back. “Oh god, I’m too old for this.”

“You’d be the youngest if we didn’t have Changkyunnie,” Hoseok reminds him. “I am the only one who can use that phrase rightfully.”

“Not really,” Minhyuk clicks his tongue. “Because if I’m not wrong, in elven years, you’re practically the equivalent of a prepubescent – “

“You know what, I’ll come collect firewood as well!” Hoseok takes off after Kihyun and Jooheon while Minhyuk falls over cackling.

Hyungwon looks down at him, unimpressed and only faintly amused. He will never quite understand the dynamic between Minhyuk and Hoseok. They bicker and argue more than any of them, but they are always the first to come to each other’s aid whenever an outsider tries to put them down. It makes him a little jealous, that kind of effortless relationship. It is true that he and Minhyuk are close, but compared to how Minhyuk interacts with their other companions, it almost seems like he holds himself back a little when it comes to Hyungwon. Hyungwon isn’t sure if he appreciates it or not.

“Sit up, please,” he says and smacks Minhyuk’s leg when he doesn’t move to get up from the ground. “If you’re going to use me as an excuse to get out of work the least you can do is watch.”

Minhyuk sighs loudly, almost like a whine, but obeys nonetheless. Hyungwon smiles a little.

“Don’t complain, you could’ve had it worse.”

“Yeah, well, watching you tear a fish inside out isn’t exactly my definition of great regardless of how deceptively dainty your fingers are,” Minhyuk shrugs with a pout.

“Is that a compliment?”

“Everything I say to you is a compliment, Wonwon.”

“Ew, stop it you two,” Changkyun comes over and gives Minhyuk an offended look. “That’s disgusting.”

“At least I’m not serenading a horse,” Minhyuk shoots right back. “Also, you’ll get a new opinion on disgusting after you watch this fish dissection. It’s kinda gross.”

“I grew up on a farm, you noldus,” Changkyun does actually spare the energy for an eyeroll. “I’m used to worse stuff than this. Also, she’s a pony.”

“What the hell is a noldus?” Minhyuk asks Hyungwon, but he is too busy stringing the fish around a long stick to dignify his enquiry with a response.

Priorities.

Hyunwoo eventually comes over with a new fish before returning to his spot by the river, and Hyungwon dissects it as easily as the first (“You sure you don’t want to try?” “Get that thing away from me, it has eyes!”) while the two others watch.

Despite the gentle weather of the late summer days, the cold creeps upon them earlier for every passing day, and though it is still sunny, it doesn’t take long before the company starts to feel the temperature dropping. Minhyuk, who hung up his cloak earlier to let it dry after an unfortunate incident with a swamp earlier that day, feels the cold most keenly, and looks at the fireside longingly. Kihyun, Jooheon and Hoseok have not returned with more kindling, but they have enough to start a small fire already. It is not going to be enough to roast dinner on, but it will provide them with some heat while they wait.

“Are you guys feeling the chill as well, or is that just me?” Minhyuk asks eventually.

Changkyun just looks at him, but Hyungwon’s expression morphs into one of concern.

“Are you cold? You can borrow my cloak, I – “

“No, no, that’s not useful at all,” Minhyuk shakes his head and takes Hyungwon’s hands away from the clasp of his thick woollen cloak. “You’ll get cold even quicker than me, and it’s not going to get any warmer from now on. “I was just thinking, maybe we should start a fire.”

“Oh.” Hyungwon looks down at Minhyuk’s hands, still holding his own.

Dainty. That was the word he used. Dainty.

Minhyuk’s fingers are smaller, delicate-looking and unworn by labour the same way that Hyungwon’s are, but they tingle with a warmness that isn’t entirely natural.

“I suppose we could, but we don’t have any flint,” Changkyun muses. “And Kihyun’s not back yet, so we can’t magic anything – “

“I’m a mage too,” Minhyuk remind him. “I can do it.”

“We really should wait for Kihyun – “

“Just look at this!”

Before he even has a chance to react, Hyungwon watches with unease as Minhyuk tears his hands out of his grip and waves at the fireplace in a huge, sweeping motion while mumbling under his breath.

Predictably, it doesn’t go well.

The small amount of wood in the stone centre catches on fire, yes – but so does Hoseok’s blanket, one of the sitting logs and a large patch of grass next to Changkyun as well.

And Changkyun’s hair.

“Minhyuk!” Changkyun screeches and grabs a handful of dirt to dab at the fire. He was only hit by a small spark, and manages to asphyxiate the small flames quickly, but not without burning his hand in the process.

Hyungwon jumps up as the fire from the log erupts near his knee, but Minhyuk can do nothing but stare dumbly at the ruckus. Things progress quite quickly after that. Hyungwon and Changkyun attempt to stamp out the fire by the campsite while Hyunwoo, who must have heard the commotion, comes running with a blanket drenched in water that he promptly tosses over the burning patch of grass. It’s not quite big enough and doesn’t quench all of it, but it helps stop the spread for a while. Halfway through their efforts, Changkyun notices Baby’s frightened whinnies, and runs over to keep the unbound horse from bolting.

Minhyuk is still, unhelpfully, pondering where the hell he went wrong with that spell.

Hyungwon is just happy he managed to keep the fish out of harm’s way.

“Minhyuk,” he says carefully once they have put out most of the unfortunate fire, and Minhyuk gives him such a forlorn look that he almost bites back his words. Almost. “This is why we wait for Kihyun.”

Hyunwoo nods in agreement, but gives Minhyuk’s head a small pat as he walks back to his fishing spot once more. “You tried.”

“MINHYUK!” Changkyun growls angrily as he leads Baby over by the bridle, still stroking her neck softly to calm her down. “You! Are! A! Shit! Mage!”

“Ah, that’s the sweetest melody I’ve ever heard,” Hoseok’s voice comes from behind them, and a second later he appears with an armful of short branches and roughly cut wood. “What did he do now? And how sorry do I have to be for missing it?”

“You’re quite lucky you weren’t around,” Changkyun fumes. “Can’t you smell the burning? Apparently kindling two sticks isn’t enough for this overpowered mage.”

“Hey,” Minhyuk pouts up at him, ignoring Hoseok’s jabs. “Be respectful towards your elders, junior.”

“You have given me literally nothing to respect besides being born earlier.”

“Oh my god, I love this kid,” Hoseok chuckles as he dumps his load at the edge of their camp. “So he torched all of this in order to… Make the campfire?”

“Pretty much,” Hyungwon confirms, and Minhyuk gives him another betrayed look. “And Changkyun’s hair.”

“This is the best,” Hoseok keeps laughing. “Kihyun! Jooheon! Hurry, you’ll want to see this.”

“Coming, coming! Stop running ahead, you elf.”

“Stop being a slow mortal,” Hoseok shoots back into the shadows of the forest and crosses his arms.

The two redheads appear soon enough, taking in the campsite with matching confused looks – Minhyuk’s pouty crouch, the half-scorched log, Changkyun’s indignation, and Hyunwoo’s blanket spread across the grass. Jooheon sniffs once before turning his face away with a grimace. “What happened here?”

“Minhyuk set fire to the camp and Changkyun.”

“He did what?!” Kihyun immediately drops his the wood and hurries up to Changkyun. He finds the small burn near his temple, and after a quick exchange with the youngest, the blisters on his hand. He doesn’t have any innate healing powers, but his satchel with healing herbs and salves are luckily close at hand. Changkyun reluctantly lets go of Baby as Kihyun forces him to sit down, muttering to himself all the while.

“What the hell did you do, Minhyuk,” he grits out under his breath, and Minhyuk isn’t sure if the other mage expects him to answer, so he chooses not to.

Hoseok isn’t ready to let it go, though.

“Out of curiosity,” he starts with a slow smirk. “Me being just a mere elf and all… How do you aim for the fireplace over here… And somehow hit the patch of grass behind you?”

“I don’t expect mere elves to understand,” Minhyuk huffs. “But magic is hard. And channelling it is a fine balance between summoning and controlled outlet – “

“I can’t listen to this,” Kihyun groans and leans over from Changkyun’s side and to the fire. With just the slightest motion of his fingers, the tiny flames practically jump from the wood and into his palm, and he rolls it around almost playfully as the others watch. It doesn’t seem to harm him in the slightest, and when he flicks his wrist once more the fire spreads out across the kindling again.

“This is proper magic, you bossel.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me names I don’t understand?”

“To be fair though,” Hyungwon says carefully. “Kihyun is kind of a prodigy, right?”

“Yeah, and Minhyuk is kind of shit,” Jooheon agrees dryly. “If only you had a charming personality to compensate.”

“Hyungwon, please save me from all these savage people,” Minhyuk groans and clasps Hyungwon’s hands again. “I don’t appreciate all this ganging up on a poor defenceless soul.”

“And we don’t appreciate being set on fire,” Changkyun retorts and high-fives Kihyun with his uninjured hand.

“Okay, yeah, that was a bit unfortunate. I apologize for that.”

“See, he does have some redeeming qualities.”

“Hyungwonie, you really need to learn how to be on someone’s side in an argument.”

“And you really need to learn how to control your magic.”

Minhyuk lets out a keening noise and falls to the ground behind the offended log. Hyungwon sits down next to him and pats his head, but Minhyuk refuses to get up until Hyunwoo arrives with more fish and they actually start cooking dinner. Hoseok keeps laughing the rest of the night, but Hyunwoo is nice enough to give him a disapproving look whenever he brings up the fire verbally.

“He knows he messed up” he argues. “You don’t have to rub it in.”

Hoseok raises his arms in surrender, but they all know this isn’t the end of it.

Especially when Hoseok discovers his blackened blanket next to the equally burned log.

“My vengeance will be swift and unexpected,” he promises Minhyuk, who is conveniently seated between Hyungwon and Hyunwoo for the rest of the night.

Changkyun and Kihyun give him disapproving looks throughout dinner as well, their eyes narrowing in twin expressions that Hoseok once nicknamed the ‘midget glare’, but at least Minhyuk is able to ignore them when they are seated on the other side of the fire. Besides, Kihyun is too busy fussing over Changkyun and Changkyun is too busy being fussed over to pay him any proper attention.

Jooheon doesn’t care enough about all this drama to give him more than one amused look.

To compensate for his mishaps, Minhyuk volunteers to take the first watch. This may also be partially because he is afraid of any immediate retribution, but he sees no reason to point this out.

Instead, he hugs Hyungwon good night and watches his companions settle down around the remnants of the fire. He’ll keep it going through the night, just enough to provide some heat, but not enough to disturb the sleepers. The flames flicker and burn shyly between the stones, and throw a soft glow on the people gathered around it. Minhyuk is the only one still upright, leaning against the biggest log with his feet crossed before the fire.

He looks around.

Hyunwoo sleeps on his back on the other side of the fire, wrapped in his cloak since his blanket hasn’t dried from the fire earlier, but he looks comfortable enough. From what Minhyuk can see, anyway – his face is turned the other way, but his body is relaxed and Minhyuk can see the rise and fall of his chest even from a distance. He knows it is to be expected; as a former soldier, Hyunwoo has slept in far worse conditions than just a blanketless summer night.

Hoseok is curled up on his side beside Hyunwoo’s legs, also covered by a cloak rather than blanket, and has moved closer to the fire to make up for it. His face is mostly buried in his arms, and it’s a position that looks awkward at best to Minhyuk’s eyes, but he supposes elves are more flexible than humans. Maybe it's alright for him?

Something that does not look comfortable, however, is the bundle of Jooheon, Kihyun and Changkyun a bit further out. It is kind of difficult to tell how their tangle works, since the only discernible parts of them as individuals are the tufts of hair sticking out from the blankets. They make a funny sight, with Jooheon’s red blending into Kihyun’s softer auburn, and finally Changkyun’s mixture of darker brown. Minhyuk can’t tell who’s leaning on who, but as long as it all works, he supposes it’s alright.

Baby makes a sound in the distance, as if she agrees with his internal assessments.

She probably does. She is an intelligent horse.

He lifts his hand from where it’s carding through Hyungwon’s hair to look at his own palm. Unmarred, pale, maybe slightly sinewy.

He thinks about Hyungwon’s hands.

Then he thinks about Changkyun’s burned hand.

And then at Kihyun’s hands.

He can’t lean forward without jostling Hyungwon, so he stays put, but he keeps his hand up and stares at the fire burning behind it. He isn’t useless, he knows he isn’t.

Minhyuk brings his hand closer to his chest and takes a deep breath. One more. One more.

Then he closes his fingers into a loose fist and whispers something softly. Opens his hand.

Much to his disappointment, it’s still empty.

He frowns a little, and closes his hand again. More firmly this time, like he is actually sending power through his fingers and into his palm. He closes his eyes as well, takes another deep breath and repeats his mumbled words.

When he opens his hand, there is a tiny flame flickering for a whole of three seconds before it dies out.

Minhyuk smiles to himself.


	2. Jailbreak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much to everyone who left kudos and commented on the last chapter!! this one is for all of you. i feed on comments and each one increases my speed.
> 
> this isn't proofread and is like 90% banter because i like banter. also beware of bitchwon, because after reading through the last chapter i realized he wasn't sassy enough.
> 
> continuing the trend of just establishing the group dynamics and the universe, somewhat, because i'm holding back the plot-heavy chapters for a bit later. also the angst. the angst will arrive soon because what is fanfics without angst
> 
> and of course i can't write jooheon's kkukkugaga thing because what the actual fuck is that shit but y'all know what i'm talking about.
> 
> final note: i was going to write a shorter chapter bc some of these will be quite short, like three-digit wordcount short, but so far, no. ok.

****

“And I think you are cute, so very cute, and I really, really like you because you are cute!” Jooheon sings in his most high-pitched, childlike tone as he sits cross-legged before the bars to his cell, looking at the two unamused guards. They are eyeing him with something in between curiosity and disgust, but so far they have been unresponsive. Not even after Jooheon squished his face between his hands and crinkled his eyes in a mock imitation of a happy infant did they give him anything for his efforts.

 

Boring.

 

He needs to entertain himself somehow – he’s been locked up for a day and a half now, because of some stupid, little miscalculation (who knew rolling melons were so good at halting a clever escape?) and there is still no sign of his friends, even though they should be well on their way to get him out already.

 

Why are his friends all so useless.

 

“Look at me, play with me, let me be your friend for ever and ever and ever and ever!”

 

Jooheon is no stranger to cells. He has been in his fair share of cells. Kind of comes with being a thief, occupational hazard and all that. Doesn’t mean he is a fan. It has been a while since the last time anyone got a hold of him long enough to put him away, and the musk in this place was enough to ensure an unhappy reunion. Jooheon is fairly certain it is underground, because he remembers walking down some stairs while he was blindfolded, and there are no windows.

 

Only dust and dirt and grime.

 

And the two boring guards.

 

“Okay, do you have any cards?” He tries again, reverting back to his normal voice. Jooheon is quite shameless, but he knows a lost battle when he sees one. “I play a mean Rat’s Eye. We don’t even have to put anything on the table, since, you know – my only gold was taken away from me approximately yesterday, approximately around the time I got to this gentle abode. Kind of stale place, by the way. Could use a renovation.”

 

Jooheon is a funny guy.

 

He knows this for a fact.

 

And yet these two refuse to acknowledge his hilarious jokes and charming quips. Quite frustrating, in and by itself, but even moreso because there is absolutely nothing else around to keep him occupied.

 

It’s probably because they are too dumb, he concludes. They look kind of stupid. Dumb and dumber. Yup, that will do.

 

“You know what, you kind of remind me of two friends of mine, they’re always sitting together all numbly like their brains stopped functioning a while ago and – “

 

He stops talking at the sound of a loud boom above him, and then the entire cell shakes enough to throw him off balance for a second. The two guards leap to their feet and exchange a hesitant glance.

 

Jooheon rolls his eyes.

 

“You better go check on that.”

 

He isn’t sure if they are actually dumb enough to listen to his half-hearted suggestion or if they are just slow, but he snorts as they trample out of his line of sight, towards the stairs he knows is somewhere to the left. The sound of heavy boots and clinking chains grows dimmer until they blend into the rustling noise from above.

 

Jooheon isn’t going to miss them. Stinking shits.

 

Now that he doesn’t have any distractions, he tries to listen to the sound of shouts and clanging metal upstairs. He frowns – if this is his companions (it better be, otherwise this city has a serious jailbreaking problem and his friends are even bigger shits than he thought), they are making quite a ruckus up there. Hyungwon isn’t quite as experienced with explosives as he is and black powder is difficult to come by on such short notice, so there was probably magic involved. Normally Kihyun is more discreet, he shouldn’t even be here because stealth isn’t his thing, but –

 

He is pulled out of his musings by light, quick steps coming down the stairs and a heated discussion between familiar voices.

 

“ – and I told you to pick the lock, not blow up the _kitchen –_ “

 

Of course.

 

Minhyuk really ought to consider ditching magic and become a full-time sneak instead – it’s the only thing he’s good at.

 

“This is so much quicker, isn’t it? If we did it your way we’d still be kneeling outside in the rain, and I don’t know about _you,_ but I – “

 

“Where the fuck is Jooheon?”

 

“Guys!” Jooheon bellows, standing up and clutching the bars. He can’t see the two of them yet, but he would recognize Minhyuk and Hoseok’s bickering anywhere.

 

He really needs to get better friends.

 

Better, as in… Actual functioning people.

 

“Hey, over here, assholes!”

 

“Excuse me?!” Minhyuk sounds very offended. Good. “Is that a way to greet your saviours?”

 

He steps into Jooheon’s line of vision not a second after, hands on his hips while his face does a great impression of a puffer fish. Jooheon is far from impressed, and when Hoseok follows, he looks similarly disgusted.

 

“Do you have all the time in the world?” Jooheon retorts. “Coz it sure as shit doesn’t sound like it. Who’s that up there?”

 

“Hyunwoo and Changkyun,” Hoseok replies and crouches down before the locked cell. Jooheon steps back a little to let him work, but raises an eyebrow at this new information.

 

“Changkyun?” Hyunwoo, he understands. The man’s a veteran, after all, but Changkyun has no business being up there.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“The kid can’t fight for shit, he’s had like, two sessions with you and Hyunwoo.”

 

“He’s shit,” Hoseok agrees. “But it doesn’t matter much, he’s a clever bugger, and Hyunwoo will look after him. Hyungwon and Kihyun are covering them from the outside.”

 

“Unless I’m mistaken, this office is inside one of those building-kind-of-things. With four walls and a roof. Outside is kind of useless.”

 

“You haven’t seen these guys fight. _That_ ’s the definition of useless, it’s a wonder this town isn’t plundered by Wildlings every day. Besides, it’s nice to have someone covering our asses, even if we’ll have to listen to Hyungwon’s wet hair bitching for the rest of the night.”

 

“Oh lord, please leave me in here,” Jooheon groans, but looks down when Hoseok grows quiet. The elf is frowning now, and Jooheon doesn’t like the look of that.

 

“What?”

 

“You might have to stay after all - I can’t dismantle it,” Hoseok admits with a pained sigh. “You’ll need the key. I don’t suppose they left it hanging around, did they?”

 

“Well, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Jooheon clicks his tongue. “But alas, Dumber had it in a pocket. I suppose you could run up and have a look – “

 

“I can take the door off its hinges,” Minhyuk cuts in, and has the gall to look proud. “I just did it upstairs, it’s – “

 

“Minhyuk, please,” Hoseok swats his knee. Hard. “We talked about this. Can you pick it?”

 

Minhyuk pouts. “That’s no fun. And it’ll take longer.”

 

“I’ll take having all my limbs over being entertained by your magic calamities, thank you very much.”

 

Jooheon really needs better friends, but he supposes he can keep Hoseok. He is kinda cool sometimes.

 

Also, elves. Three years down the line, still wicked.

 

Minhyuk’s pout stays plastered on his face, but he doesn’t say anything else as he kneels before the lock and pulls out a tiny dirk from his boot and gets to work.

 

The thing about Minhyuk is, he is not a good mage.

 

He is, however, a brilliant thief, almost on par with Jooheon himself. With his bright Northern hair and loud personality, he is not quite as inconspicuous as Jooheon, but he is terrific at disengaging locks and breaking in to places, finding hidden passages, secret doorways and alternative routes. It’s as if he’s never done anything else.

 

Which, Jooheon supposes, he hasn’t.

 

He never received proper magic training, but as a street kid, he learned a lot of valuable survival skills that have saved his life on numerous occasions, if only because of instincts and experience. It’s almost a shame that he buries these abilities so far underneath an cheerful, careless demeanour and this almost obsessive interest in magic.

 

Or maybe Jooheon is just biased.

 

Either way, he takes a moment to appreciate Minhyuk’s nifty work as he unlocks the cell in less than a minute and pulls the door open in an exaggerated motion.

 

“Here you go, good sir,” he says, bowing when Jooheon steps past him.

 

“Get up, you junk,” Hoseok cuffs the back of Minhyuk’s head as he walks past and after Jooheon. “We’ve got to get out.”

 

“What exactly is the plan after this?” Jooheon demands, accepting the short sword Hoseok thrusts at him easily.

 

“We go upstairs, pick up Hyunwoo and Changkyun, get out, get the fuck out of this town and sleep out in the rain tonight,” Minhyuk summarizes helpfully and sheaths the dirk in favour of a larger knife. It’s rusty, Jooheon notes.

 

“Your knife is rusty.” He felt the need to point it out.

 

Minhyuk shrugs.

 

Minhyuk is an actual idiot.

 

“Look after your weapons,” Hoseok admonishes. “If you keep them in shape, they’ll win your fight for you.”

 

“Okay, cool, thanks,” Minhyuk spits on the blade, and Jooheon is pretty sure he is sarcastic. But you never know with Minhyuk. “Can we move on now and stuff?”

 

“Also, we’re sleeping outside? Why not take in at an inn?”

 

“Jooheon, please don’t get all high and mighty now,” Hoseok shoots him a look. “We could’ve stayed the night in town if we didn’t have to save your jailed ass. But they’re gonna send out search parties after this, anything civilized in the surrounding area will be checked. When Hyungwon’s rants become hysteric, I’m sending him to you.”

 

It was those bloody melons, though. Jooheon is usually smooth.

 

He doesn’t say as much, because objectively, Hoseok has a point. And objectively, they should probably save their idiotic, outnumbered friends upstairs.

 

Jooheon supposes he might not need new friends after all, because he is also kind of dumb. It’s a notion he’s never going to say out loud.

 

Hoseok seems pacificed by his silence, though, and leads the way upstairs.

 

It’s a mayhem of clinking swords and shouts and flailing bodies, and Jooheon winces when a heavyset man crashes into the wall next to the entrance to the staircase. He sees Hyunwoo’s dark blue cape fly around him as he dances between dumbfounded guards with precise strikes delivered swiftly and without compromise. A little further behind is Changkyun, who fights as dirty and creatively as anyone Jooheon’s ever seen. It’s to his credit though, and judging from the guard stumbling around with a bucket on his head, his tactics are effective, if not as elegant as Hyunwoo’s professionalism.

 

The guards look thoroughly untrained and are constantly edging away from Hyunwoo’s sword, but it doesn’t look like they have realized that he doesn’t strike to kill. It’s not their fault Jooheon went and got himself killed, after all, and Hyunwoo had his reasons to desert anyway.

 

A loss for the army, really, but unlike Minhyuk’s sneaking skills, Jooheon doesn’t feel bad about this at all.

 

“Hyunwoo!” Hoseok calls out and ducks the blow from an incoming guard pursuing a presumably easy target. Presumably being the keyword, because Hoseok dodges with elven elegance and sweeps his legs under the man’s feet to knock him down. He looks positively bewildered, but Hoseok only straightens and calls out to Hyunwoo again.

 

“You got him?” Hyunwoo’s question is punctuated by the sound of steel against steel.

 

“Yeah, they found the princess hidden away in the basement,” Jooheon shouts because, hello Hyunwoo, nice to see you too, and then follows Hoseok towards the door, blocking incoming attacks and evading others. “Let’s get out of here!”

 

Minhyuk is helping Changkyun disengage a particularly ugly guard who’s got at least five inches on both of them, and the combined efforts of the two small boys are enough to drive him over a table beneath the window. They seize the opportunity and follow the others out into the dark evening and pissy rain.

 

“Couldn’t we have waited until, like, tomorrow or something?” Minhyuk groans as he pulls up his hood.

 

None of them dignify that with an answer, and Hoseok squints up at the roof of the building across the street.

 

“Kihyun!” he shouts, and on cue a translucent wall shoots up in the doorway behind them, locking the guards inside. Two managed to follow them out, but an arrow from above takes out one of them (Hyungwon is a cold bitch) and Hyunwoo knocks out the other. He proceeds to drag them closer to the wall, where the roof sticks out a little bit, just enough to keep the ground beneath somewhat dry. He looks annoyingly apologetic and sincere as he does so, and Jooheon doesn’t point out their mud-soiled clothes.

 

They follow Hoseok through the streets, dodging the few locals wandering in the rain and keeping half an eye out for any followers. Kihyun’s spell will only last so long, and their commotion surely attracted enough attention to send more people hot on their trail.

 

Minhyuk slips once on the mud, and whines about it for the rest of the run, even after Hoseok told him to stay silent or lose a butt cheek. Minhyuk is only able to sit down afterwards because Hoseok realized he didn’t have the stomach to see the threat through.

 

Jooheon doesn’t have his cloak, and while that makes running a lot easier, it also gets quite cold once the rain has soaked through his woollen tunic and breeches. He stays warm as long as they keep moving, but his fingers and toes are slowly growing numb, and he really hopes someone brought his backpack.

 

His wishes come true when they reach the end of the town, after about twenty minutes of running, and he sees Hyungwon hiding beneath a tree with Baby. Both of them look positively miserable, but probably for different reasons – the pony doesn’t like Hyungwon much, even if he was the one who named her. Hyungwon just doesn’t like rain.

 

Jooheon doesn’t care, because he sees the red handkerchief hanging from a bag attached to Baby’s saddle, and all he can think about is that warm blanket he has hidden away in his pack.

 

“Hyungwonnie!” Minhyuk calls out, annoyingly chirpy, and muddy trip seemingly forgotten. Hyungwon’s pout doesn’t disappear, but at least his eyes brighten a little as they catch up.

 

“Did you see any followers?” Hyunwoo asks, and Hyungwon shakes his head, his hair sending droplets of water flying in between the rain.

 

“So far, so good. But let’s get away before anyone gets any bright ideas.”

 

“Where is Kihyun?” Changkyun frowns as he grabs the reins from Hyungwon.

 

“He was being slow.”

 

“Wait, you just ran ahead of him?”

 

“He was being slow _and_ annoying.”

 

“Oh my god, Hyungwon, you can’t just leave him, what if something happens because he’s alone – “

 

“What if something happened to Baby because we left _her_ alone for too long?”

 

Changkyun has got, like, two weak points. Hyungwon knows them both and when he puts them against one another, Changkyun becomes confused and just stares dumbly at trees.

 

Jooheon is definitely not keeping anyone besides Hoseok.

 

(He will and he knows it, but. But. They are all so dumb.)

 

“Well, we’ll have to wait for him anyway now,” Minhyuk sighs dramatically and latches onto Hyungwon, which earns him a great scowl and annoyed grunt. Hyungwon doesn’t like being wet, but being wet _and_ dirty is even worse. Luckily it’s just Minhyuk, because anyone else would get an earful of bitch.

 

It’s obvious to everyone that Hyunwoo and Hoseok, in particular, are thoroughly uncomfortable with the notion of just waiting around, like sitting ducks, but they don’t have much of a choice. They don’t have a set rendez-vous for the night besides the trees by the road, and if they split up, they won’t find each other again that easily.

 

Jooheon doesn’t have any faith in the guards’ desire to trek after them under the current conditions, but he’s sure that pointing out any such thing would only backfire on him at this point.

 

They wait restlessly for a few more minutes before Changkyun turns to Hoseok.

 

“Could you go back and see if you find him?” He asks carefully, almost hopeful.

 

Hoseok never wants to say no to the kid, but he doesn’t even know where to start. “Hyungwon is the only one who knows the path from the roof.”

 

“Hyungwon isn’t going anywhere.”

 

“Hyungwon refers to himself in the third person.”

 

“Hyungwon can’t hear people who trips and gets caught by the most useless squad anyone South of Nandahl has ever seen.”

 

“I’m from North of Nan – “

 

“Guys!” Kihyun’s voice is barely audible over the hammering waterfall from the skies, but it’s enough to shut Minhyuk up and lower three pairs of shoulders notably.

 

Kihyun looks just as drenched as the rest of them, and he glares at Hyungwon when he approaches, but is otherwise unharmed, and Jooheon can’t suppress a smile as Changkyun grabs his hand when he comes close enough.

 

“Finally,” Hyungwon sighs dramatically. “We’ve been waiting forever, short-legs.”

 

“No, we haven’t,” Hyunwoo points out and raises an eyebrow.

 

“You don’t know how long I waited before you showed up.”

 

“Can’t have been too long,” Hoseok nudges Minhyuk as he says this, making him stumble a little from Hyungwon’s side. “Doesn’t matter anyway. Let’s go.”

 

“If I had a gold coin for every time I heard Hoseok say that,” Minhyuk copies Hyungwon’s dramatic sigh. “Is your life a constant rush, Hoseok?”

 

“I’m trying to accelerate these years so I can outlive you quicker.”

 

“That’s – “

 

“Why is everyone in this group a mess?” Kihyun asks Changkyun quietly. Jooheon snorts. He couldn’t agree more.

 

It takes them longer than it should, but they eventually collects themselves enough to continue their flight. Four hours later, it’s pitch black, still raining and ridiculously cold, but at least they are far enough away to deem it safe to set up camp. Hyungwon selects a spot relatively shielded by trees, and Kihyun puts up a water repellent spell that will keep the worst of it out.

 

It’s not a great night, but it will do. They’re moving on in the morning, recouping and figuring their next move, but until then, Jooheon is content to snuggle into Changkyun and Kihyun-shaped lumps by the fire and sleep for a few hours.

 

He kind of missed them all last night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why the fuck did i write this

“This is an artefact.”

 

“Well spotted, Minhyuk. What tipped you off? The glowing aura or the bejeweled seat?”

 

“I am a seer. I can see the future. It tells me stuff.”

 

“You’re a shit mage, Minhyuk, that’s all you are.”

 

“Rude.” Minhyuk frowns and leans over to give Hoseok’s shoulder a smack. “I won’t hear that from you, mister buffest-elf-alive.”

 

“Can you two like, stand on opposite sides of the group?” Jooheon sighs dramatically. Behind him, Changkyun looks up from the small table in front of them and nods gravely. Then his attention returns immediately to the magical object on the table, and he eyes it with the same amount of suspicion as Hyungwon usually directs towards meat pies.

 

Long story. No one asks.

 

“I can still see his face,” Minhyuk says.

 

“I can still hear his voice,” Hoseok complains.

 

“I’m not asking for peace in the realm, I just want to avoid the crossfire between the two of you,” Jooheon retorts. “We didn’t come here for you to fight.”

 

“Then what did we come here for?”

 

“Shelter,” Kihyun sounds as exasperated as Jooheon, and he’s not even putting on a show. “Abandoned houses are a lot more reliable than weather shields, after all. Though I might reconsider in this case, not quite sure if I want to stay in this place for long. Minhyuk’s artefact is creeping me out.”

 

“Why? It’s just an old box with some fancy light,” Hyungwon scoffs and reaches out to open the lid of the ornate little box.

 

“Don’t touch it!” Kihyun yelps and slaps his hand away quickly, earning himself a nasty glare. “Approaching unknown magical items with no precautions is generally a bad idea. Did you grow up under a waffle, or what?”

 

“Can we have one conversation without insulting each other?” Hyunwoo gives them a look. “But Kihyun’s probably right, in this case. He’s the expert on magic, but even I know not to trifle with magic if it can be avoided.”

 

“I’m a mage too,” Minhyuk huffs. “Just, for future reference. I know magic and stuff.”

 

“Sure.” Hyunwoo can’t be bothered to argue Minhyuk’s self-proclaimed magehood anymore. “We still need to find out what we’re going to do. I mean, is it safe to stay here for the night with that thing?”

 

“Well, that depends,” Kihyun frowns, and looks around the house. It’s not very big, and the stairs in the corner seem to lead to a loft rather than anything resembling a proper second story, but the most disconcerting part is the almost wizened appearance of the interior. Not necessarily destroyed or raided, just worn and dusty. Old, abandoned, apart from that single table in the middle with the mysterious box.

 

“The place doesn’t look too bad, so I can’t say if the artefact holds some power over it, like a curse or spirit – “

 

“Ghosts?!”

 

“ – or if it’s just conveniently been placed here after the owners left,” Kihyun continues, ignoring Jooheon’s little yelp. “I can probably get an inkling on its content, if you give me like… Thirty minutes?”

 

“Thirty minutes is fine,” Hyunwoo nods. “Do you reckon it’s alright to light up the fireplace? If nothing else we can at least get some heat and a warm meal.”

 

“Sure, but if you notice something odd, we fuck off in the blink of an eye.”

 

“Fair enough.” Hyunwoo approaches an old, wilted chair and starts breaking it up into pieces. It breaks like twigs under his hands, and Jooheon can’t help but wince a little in sympathy.

 

For a chair.

 

“Can I bring Baby inside?” Changkyun asks, still eyeing the artefact as Kihyun sits down crosslegged in front of it. “She doesn’t like the rain.”

 

“It’s a horse.” Hyungwon sounds decidedly unimpressed with the entire situation.

 

“She’s a pony.”

 

“It’s an animal with four legs that carries our stuff. Same difference.”

 

“You are a disgrace to sentient creatures,” Changkyun sticks his tongue out at Hyungwon, who just looks at him dumbly. “And my point still stands, she doesn’t like the rain. Please? She can’t possibly smell worse than Minhyuk’s feet anyway.”

 

He nods towards Minhyuk, who has positioned himself on the bottom of the stairs and works on unlacing his boots. He looks up with a glare at the mention of his name.

 

“Excuse you,” he snaps and jerks his boot off before tossing it at Changkyun’s head. Or, well, that general direction, anyway. It sort of hits Hoseok instead, who growls and embeds one of his tossing knives in the wall above Minhyuk’s head in retaliation.

 

“Civil war outside, civil war inside,” Jooheon rolls his eyes. “Hyunwoo, don’t you have something to say to this? Don’t you have traumatic memories from the frontlines or something? Wouldn’t you say that this sort of violence takes you back to unpleasant times?”

 

“… Not really.”

 

“Do you even have a soul?”

 

“Can a guy get some peace and quiet while he works?” Kihyun opens his eyes and gives everyone a look before turning to Changkyun. “Bring Baby inside. No one’s gonna complain.”

 

“I’ll complain.” Hyungwon speaks up, and Kihyun looks like he wants to choke on something.

 

“Don’t you have beauty sleep to catch up on or something?” He bites out, but ushers Changkyun towards the door anyway.

 

“As if I’d be able to sleep through this,” Hyungwon snorts, and his eyes follow Changkyun as he exits the modest house. “You spoil him, you know.”

 

“What, because I let him bring his pony inside?”

 

“In general,” Hyungwon shrugs. “It’s not a nice world out there. You’re not doing him any favours by building a pillow fortress around him.”

 

“I’m not building a pillow fortress anywhere,” Kihyun protests. “Besides, he’s still so young. Please excuse me if I’m not sucker punching him in the gut just to grow his beard. He’ll experience the world in his own tempo, it’s not like he’s been sheltered until now anyway.”

 

Hyungwon looks like he is about to contest the claim, but then his eyes soften a little bit, and he looks almost apologetic as he crouches next to Kihyun.

 

“Is this…” He starts, biting his lip slightly before continuing. “Is this about your lit – “

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

“But Minhyuk said – “

 

“Minhyuk can take whatever he wants to say and shove it up somewhere his eyes will never see,” Kihyun grumbles. “And you leave Changkyun and Baby alone.”

 

“Fine,” Hyungwon sighs and stands up. “You be that way, grumpy. Do things your own way, see if it does you any good in the end.”

 

“That’s not going to be your problem anyway, is it?”

 

Hyungwon actually stops, looks like he’s about to argue the point, but Hyunwoo demands their attention before he has the time to say anything more.

 

“Kihyun, sorry, but could you…?” He gestures sheepishly towards the fireplace and the broken planks and timber piled up in the centre.

 

“Sure.” Kihyun doesn’t mind being flashy, but this time he barely makes a gesture large enough to direct the little spark that crackles and spreads fire across the dry wood. Hyunwoo gives him a brief salute and calls Jooheon over to help him unpack their food supplies.

 

Meanwhile, Kihyun turns back to the artefact and huffs a little to himself. Hyungwon was ready to continue pressing Kihyun about the issue, but the mage closes his eyes and Hyungwon can practically see his consciousness float away into that abstract dimension he visits when he consults his magic. Well then, another day. Hyungwon sighs again and takes it as his directive to go help Minhyuk with his other shoe instead.

 

Two minutes roll by, three, four, five, ten, twenty, and fortunately nothing happens despite their fire. The brittle planks of the house don’t catch fire thanks to the brick fortification around the fireplace, and no malevolent, ethereal being drops by to exercise vengeance on them for disrupting its slumber.

 

Changkyun returns soon enough, with Baby in tow, and he almost has to hold her back when she goes for the fire. She isn’t very big, but still big enough for the navigation around the sparse furniture to become a bit of a challenge as he tries to keep her from stomping down Kihyun (still lost in his magical trance) and the little group huddled by the stairs. In the end, Changkyun manages to settle her down in the opposite corner, nearby the fireplace, but not close enough to burn her mane.

 

He eventually takes of her bridle as well – they are all used to her by now, and she is generally a very calm animal, so there are no major protests when he hangs the braided equipment over the fire to dry.

 

Admittedly, there are some protests when she shakes her fur and pretty much soaks Jooheon and Hyungwon.

 

All in all, it’s alright.

 

Domestic, almost, and at least they are warm and dry, which is always a welcome sign. They only have salted, dried meat from the last time they left a small village down South, but Hyunwoo has tossed a few pieces into a stew along with some vegetables, and the smell weaves through the room to create a deceivingly peaceful atmosphere.

 

Things are never completely civil in this particular group, but sometimes, they indulge the illusion.

 

Minhyuk and Hyungwon are leaning against each other by the stairs, and Hoseok has taken up vigil at their feet – he started to polish his knives earlier, but it looks like he has given it up in favour of just sitting back and soaking in the calm atmosphere. Jooheon sits by Hyunwoo, watching him stir the stew and maintaining the fire, and the veteran seems happy to entertain him for a while.

 

Changkyun is still looking after Baby, brushing the water out of her fur methodically with a soft grooming brush, and the pony exhales in satisfaction when he goes over sensitive spots and scratches a little longer than necessary.

 

It’s a peaceful time.

 

That is, until Kihyun lets out a little surprised noise and _flies_ backwards, crashing into the wall and tumbling down to the floor in a heap.

 

“Kihyun!” Jooheon is the first to react, crossing the floor and crouching next to the dazed mage as he shakily tries to prop himself up against the wall. “You alright?”

 

“Yeah… Yeah, just fine,” Kihyun groans and brushes his fringe away from his eyes. “That was… Ow.”

 

“Sounded like ‘ow’, sure,” Hyungwon remarks drily, but he looks over with slight concern as well.

 

“Did you find out anything?” Hyunwoo asks gently.

 

“I did,” Kihyun confirms as Jooheon looks over his scraped hand awkwardly. “The good news is that it’s not going to hurt us.”

 

“That’s a start,” Minhyuk nods cheerfully. Hoseok snorts.

 

“And the bad news?”

 

“The bad news,” Kihyun starts slowly. “Is that it’s a flytrap. Basically, it attracts anyone nearby and puts a curse on them once they touch it.”

 

“That sounds like it’s meant to hurt us,” Jooheon points out.

 

“Well, not badly,” Kihyun shrugs. “I couldn’t see exactly what it’s going to do to anyone who touches it, just that it involves some sort of physical manipulation… But I know it’s going to be temporary. The magic isn’t strong enough to induce a lasting curse, but maybe a day or so? Two-three? Long enough to drive away any intruders, that’s the idea.”

 

“Well, let’s not find out,” Hyunwoo says. “If we can just avoid touching it, we should be fine either way. Right?”

 

“That’s easier said than done, though.” Kihyun wrinkles his nose and glares at the little box, looking so innocent on top of its oddly out-of-place table, completely still, quiet. He knows it’s not innocent at all. “It’s been behaving so far, because it’s been busy trying to keep me out, but once it becomes idle it’s going to start sending out its charms, trying to lure us in. You might have to invest some more energy into staying away.”

 

“We’re not idiots, Kihyun,” Minhyuk points out with a shrug. “If you say stay away, we stay away.”

 

“I’ve learned not to take anything for granted with this company.”

 

“Okay, I take offense to that.”

 

“You were meant to.”

 

“Cut that out, and play nice over dinner,” Hyunwoo interjects, throwing them both a look that they still alternate between calling his lieutenant face, or father face. Either way it shuts them up, and they start scuffling around to prepare for dinner.

 

Hyunwoo promises to be done soon, but none of them know what ‘soon’ means, and they skirt around the cottage uncertainly while casting hesitant glances towards the artefact. It’s pretty difficult to ignore, in the middle of the room like that, and exactly like Kihyun predicted, it peaks their curiousity and demands attention despite the potential danger. Hoseok hasn’t turned to look at it since Kihyun pronounced his verdict, and Changkyun, despite his confidence in Baby’s obedience, stacked a couple of chairs between the pony and the artefact that does not help whatsoever but makes him feel better.

 

Jooheon doesn’t like it.

 

The artefact makes the room feel stifling, like an inevitable disaster waiting to happen, and at the same time, he is undeniably drawn to it. Only his self-preservation drive keeps him five feet from the table at all times, but his eyes wander across the room and settles on the artefact before he has even realized it.

 

It’s annoying.

 

It makes him uneasy.

 

He picks up his cloak, but looks out of the small window and sees the rain creating ripples in the small pond outside. The heavy fabric is already damp, but at least it’s drying, and Jooheon doesn’t want to make it worse. Hopefully it should be fresh come morning.

 

The cloak falls to the ground again.

 

“Guys, I’m going out for a bit,” he announces to the group and steps around the artefact towards the door.

 

Minhyuk frowns. “Now? Why?”

 

“To get some fresh air,” Jooheon shrugs half-heartedly. “It’s suffocating in here. Also, toilet break.”

 

“Leave the man alone, Minhyuk,” Hoseok snorts and tosses something at Minhyuk, Jooheon doesn’t exactly see what. He doesn’t really care either.

 

Making sure to close the door behind him to avoid a draft, he hears their raised voices as he steps around the cottage to find a suitable spot. Preferably under a thick tree. Preferably as dry as possible.

 

That old oak looks wizened and dead, but it will do.

 

It’s a lot quieter now, and he can almost revel in the peaceful atmosphere of the little forest, the tinkle of raindrops in the tree above him, cold wind – a little bit too fresh to be completely serene, but Jooheon will take it.

 

His reprieve doesn’t last long.

 

There is a shout, a scream, and then a muted bang, like a small explosion.

 

Then –

 

“What the hell is this?!” Hyungwon. He sounds vaguely upset, but frustrated, not scared. His exclamation is followed by a high-pitched noise, almost like a scream, but Jooheon can’t quite place it – maybe Kihyun? Or Minhyuk?

 

Either way, it doesn’t sound too good, and he hoists his breeches back up and ties his belt quickly while making his way back to the door.

 

It must have been the artefact, he thinks. Someone must have touched it, of course they did, it was bound to happen at some point, it’s just typical isn’t it, hopefully no one is hurt badly –

 

The sight that meets him when he steps through the door is not what he expected.

 

Changkyun is standing by Baby, hands hovering hesitantly over her neck as if calming her down, although his gaze is drawn to the center of the room. Hyunwoo and Hyungwon wear matching masks of disbelief, also focused on the ruckus in the middle of the room, specifically around the artefact, and beneath the table –

 

Three fumbling, confused puppies trying to get back on their feet.

 

Hoseok, Kihyun and Minhyuk are nowhere to be seen.

 

And all Jooheon can think, is that he left _for five fucking minutes to take a piss._

And he comes back to _this._

“What happened?” He shrieks, pointing to the pile of puppies that obviously, miraculously, _stupidly_  have to be their three missing friends. “What…. Dogs?!”

 

The puppies, finally noticing him, tumble out of their pile and one of them, an energetic thing with cream-light fur and floppy ears, bounds over to him and starts jumping at his knees. It’s already breathing quickly and making weird noises, but obviously excited, as it keeps jumping even after falling down and tipping backwards.

 

Jooheon stares at it incredulously.

 

The other two puppies appear to be more hesitant about the situation – one of them is huge and grey, the other tiny and dark, but they both have sharp ears and curled tails, in stark contrast to the one at Jooheon’s feet, which almost looks like an overused teddy bear.

 

“Well, fuck.”

 

“So, uh, they touched the artefact.”

 

“I guessed.”

 

“If you want to ask, I’ll say it’s Minhyuk’s fault,” Changkyun says with a wince and gives Baby an apologetic pat. “But you don’t really want to know anything more than that.”

 

“I can fill in the blanks,” Jooheon shrugs and crouches slightly to pat the puppy – _Minhyuk,_ Hyungwon supplies helpfully _._ Jooheon doesn’t expect him to take a bite of his hand though, and falls back with a yelp while Minhyuk eagerly leaps on top of him to lavish him in licks and nuzzles and the occasional excited bite.

 

“Minhyuk, stop – get him off, get him off!” He cries out and tries to cover his face with his arms. Intuitively, he knows the puppy wants to play, not fight – but that’s a small comfort when razor-sharp teeth speed around his face uncaringly.

 

“My life is so full of shit,” Hyungwon sighs as he picks up the little cream coloured puppy. Its tongue falls out of its mouth happily as four tiny legs paddle in the air, and Hyungwon looks positively disgusted.

 

On the other side of the room, Changkyun has dropped to his knees to coo at the black ball of fur that desperately tries to hide under Jooheon’s discarded cloak. It’s a lot smaller than the other puppies, and much less energetic, but the dissatisfied huffs it lets out once in a while and the look of disapproval tossed in the direction of the artefact makes it pretty clear that it’s Kihyun.

 

Hyunwoo looks nonplussed and turns back to the stew.

 

Baby gives a pony-equivalent of and eyeroll and drinks some water.

 

“At least some things never change,” Hyungwon points out and nods down to the largest puppy, Hoseok, sitting by his feet and barking up at Minhyuk. Minhyuk doesn’t seem to care.

 

“Why are you looking so displeased?” Jooheon asks as he gets up, considering picking up Hoseok. He doesn’t. “I thought you hunters loved dogs? Didn’t you use to have one?”

 

“Oh sure, dogs are great companions,” Hyungwon agrees with a shrug before looking at the puppy in his hands. He’s still holding it a good armlength away from himself, not that Minhyuk seems to mind. “This isn’t a dog, though. This is a wet towel. It’s _Minhyuk._ ”

 

The puppy’s face falls a little bit, and he lets out a sad whine, but the tail is still wagging happily, so he doesn’t seem too upset.

 

“Minhyuk is a cute dog,” Hyunwoo interjects, but his comment is drowned by the sudden strings of exceptionally loud barks Hoseok lets out, making everyone jump, and Baby stomps nervously.

 

“Hoseok, please, be quiet!” Jooheon groans and puts a hand on Baby’s forehead to make up for Changkyun’s sudden preoccupation with the confused Kihyun-puppy. Baby doesn’t appreciate it and shoves him away.

 

Baby is easily the grumpiest pony he has ever met.

 

“He just wants to play,” Changkyun points out as Kihyun starts nibbling on his fingers. “Communicating in dog language. It’s a thing they do.”

 

“But they’re not dogs.”

 

“Now they are.”

 

And honestly, between the drooling, panting mess in Hyungwon’s arms, the noisy canine trying to crawl over his feet and the fluffball with claws curling up in Changkyun’s arms, there is no room for argument.

 

Their friends are dogs now.

 

Happy days.

 

Might as well go with it.

 

“I guess in that case, Kihyun is pretty much the epitome of a kicked puppy,” Hyungwon muses as he puts Minhyuk back down, and snickers as the puppy in question gives an angry bark in his direction. It sounds like a squeaking mouse. “He’s probably sulking.”

 

“He’s pretty cute though, isn’t he?” Changkyun says and shifts the puppy around in his grip a little bit, rubbing his nose against the soft fur affectionately. Kihyun looks marginally less offended.

 

Hoseok, who has somehow curled up in Changkyun’s lap, huffs a little and Changkyun deciphers it as a sound of amusement. Kihyun whines.

 

Minhyuk is running circles around Hyungwon.

 

“They’re all cute,” Jooheon agrees and reaches out to Minhyuk. The puppy immediately bolts over to his hand and gives it a wet lick, only marginally calmer than his pounce earlier. It’s almost as if Minhyuk is taking too well to being a dog. “Although it’s gonna be awkward when they turn back.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Okay, so we agreed that they are like dogs right now?” he starts slowly. “And we’re treating them like animals, I guess? Wonder how that reacts with their human brains.”

 

“Well, looking at this one, you’d think his brain is more dog than human right now,” Hyungwon nods in the direction of the still hyper Minhyuk puppy. “Actually, that might just be the case always. The others seem to have retained their sense of dignity.”

 

Hoseok’s ears perk at that, and he looks up at Changkyun questioningly.

 

Changkyun, for his part, is still busy nuzzling Kihyun’s dark fur, and eventually receives a careful, possibly begrudging lick on the tip of his nose for his cuddles. Kihyun doesn’t really bark, not like Hoseok and Minhyuk anyway, but makes plenty of displeased noises instead, ranging from derisive snorts to high-pitched whines. Although he grows quieter eventually – either because he is getting used to being a dog or because Changkyun is a great puppy-sitter.

 

Either way, it’s not exactly the definition of dignity.

 

But Changkyun has no intentions of pointing it out, because he knows that will only lead to new complaints and insulted scuffles. 

 

Hoseok has been staring at Changkyun for a good three seconds without getting his attention, and snorts before nipping at his elbow. His teeth are like tiny blades, but there is very little strength behind the bites, and Changkyun looks down at the pup in surprise. Hoseok looks back up at him, tilting his head ever so slightly, but that does not clue Changkyun in at all. It just makes him think that Hoseok should stay a puppy forever.

 

“What is it?” He asks, and Kihyun twists a little in his arms again. Instinctively, Changkyun adjusts his arms again to accommodate the movement, scratching Kihyun a little bit behind the ear as he settles, and Hoseok whines before shoving his head into Changkyun’s belly. “You want cuddles too?”

 

He never thought he, a young farmer’s son from the East who only saw the sea for the first time a few months ago, would be offering cuddles to a centuries old elf.

 

It’s a strange world.

 

Hoseok, apparently, does not seem to find anything about the situation weird or unnerving at all, and rolls over on his back expectantly. He is quite large, still bigger in this puppy form than some adult dogs Changkyun has seen, and a far cry from Kihyun, who fits snuggly into the crook of his elbow. This means that when he twists and turns atop of Changkyun’s crossed legs, his gangly limbs end up knocking into Changkyun and Kihyun and a nearby chair, effectively knocking all of them over and sending them sprawling on the ground.

 

It makes Hoseok forego cuddles, but now that Kihyun is back on solid ground, the large pup takes the opportunity to bundle over and start sniffing him. Kihyun only allows this for a second before snapping, biting at Hoseok’s ear and letting out a soft snarl (still sounds more like a squeaking mouse).

 

Hoseok takes this as an invitation to play.

 

Surprisingly, it works out alright, and by the time Changkyun has righted himself again, the two are busying themselves with an awkward sort of dog wrestling, consisting mainly of Kihyun standing on his hind legs to tug at Hoseok’s neck fur, while Hoseok snaps his jaw at his tiny legs and occasionally lifts a paw to swipe over his shoulder.

 

It doesn’t take long before Minhyuk catches on and abandons his relatively fruitless attempts at making Hyungwon acknowledge him to join the other two. Unsurprisingly, three puppies can cause a lot bigger ruckus than two, and the gentle wrestling match takes on a fiercer character as all three jump between opponents and tries to get an upper hand on two dogs at once.

 

Hyunwoo quietly turns around to put his body between the pups and the fire.

 

For various reasons, Jooheon and Hyungwon prefer to maintain their distance to the pups (regardless of how adorable they might be, they are still their _friends,_ not pets) and so the main responsibility of keeping them in check falls to Changkyun. It’s not a task he minds, per se, because he loves dogs just as he loves all animals, but three overly energetic puppies riling each other up can get a bit….

 

Tiring.

 

Taking Hoseok out of their scuffle is the most effective, because he is the biggest one, causing the most damage to both furniture and fellow pups, but that also means that he is the strongest and most difficult one for Changkyun to handle by himself. He sort of wishes he had a leash, but he would also be reluctant to put a leash on _Hoseok._

In contrast, extrapolating Kihyun from the fray is an easy task, since he can pick him up with one hand and put him on a table or something, and he wouldn’t dare to jump back down. He’s also content to cuddle in Changkyun’s arms, something the other two appear to have no time or patience for. But then, Kihyun isn’t really making a difference in the fight anyway, being small and easily trampled by the two others rather than contributing with his own destructive tendencies.

 

Minhyuk _bites_ him if he tries to put him away. He bites and whines and struggles to get out of Changkyun’s arms, at least until he finds someone else to torment – that’s the positive aspect of Minhyuk’s puppy persona. At least he doesn’t mind hanging with people rather than dogs, which, after some playtime, appears to be Hoseok and Kihyun’s preferences.

 

It all goes to hell when Hyungwon points out a wet puddle nearby the door, and Changkyun swears, he is not qualified for this.

 

They conclude that it’s not their house, it’s uninhabited, and hey look, since they’re so focused on keeping track of the puppies, at least no one’s going near the artefact again.

 

Silver linings.

 

When Hyunwoo announces that dinner is finished, it’s well anticipated, but also brings a new set of problems.

 

“…. What do dogs eat?”

 

“Not this.”

 

“Mine always ate meat,” Hyungwon suggests, and pauses. “Pretty much exclusively.”

 

“How much dried meat do we have?” Changkyun starts digging through his backpack. “Or old bread? Preferably not stale?”

 

“If they’re not going to eat the stew, we have too much stew,” Hyunwoo states with a shrug. “At least it serves as breakfast tomorrow as well, will it do if we take out scraps of meat and some bread for them to eat? I’ve got three loaves.”

 

“Should be alright.”

 

“I still can’t believe our friends are dogs now,” Jooheon says and accepts a bowl from Hyunwoo. “What reality is this?”

 

“Hopefully one that ends soon,” Hyungwon winces and picks a piece of carrot out of his stew before tossing it over to the pile of dogs. Although seemingly tireless and eager, they have eased their play to a less… Volatile affair.

 

Minhyuk still steps over Hoseok’s tail in his haste to get the carrot when they hear the small thump.

 

Hoseok, catching on to what’s happening quicker, bolts over to Hyunwoo and plops down by his feet, Kihyun hot on his trail.

 

Unfortunately, Hyunwoo doesn’t quite know what to do in the face of two pairs of huge, shining puppy eyes preening up at him and his food.

 

“Guys, here,” Changkyun whistles and waves a piece of bread around. He’s trying to pick out some puppy-safe pieces from the stew and move them over to another bowl, but at least the bread will serve as a distraction while the still-human parts of their group finish their food in peace.

 

Surprisingly, Minhyuk is the one who bolts over first, jumping at Changkyun’s legs and clawing gently up at his thighs with a small sound of utter sadness. It’s adorable. It’s endearing.

 

It’s a little bit distracting when he’s trying to prepare food.

 

But he doesn’t have the heart to scold Minhyuk for it (could he? Minhyuk isn’t _actually_ a puppy, certainly not a puppy Changkyun was going to train, and you don’t really scold your own friends for being hungry?) and instead tears off a few crumbles of bread and drops them to the floor. Hoseok and Kihyun, follow the falling food immediately, and soon enough the three dogs are cleaning the floor with their tongues.

 

Jooheon makes a face, and turns back to his own stew with a mumbled, “you don’t know where that floor has been.”

 

In the end, Changkyun gets to distribute some food to the pups, feeding them all scraps and various amounts of bread to accommodate for their size differences and eating speed. Surprisingly, he is able to get them all to eat in different corners of the room, at least for a while…

 

… And then Minhyuk finishes his portion and moves on to put his paw on Hoseok’s head to get his food.

 

Hoseok goes ballistic.

 

It’s so sudden, going from peaceful and quiet to an outright war in less than half a second, and Changkyun doesn’t have the time to react before Hoseok jumps at Minhyuk teeth first. Minhyuk is quick to respond, letting out a snarl and swiping tense paws at Hoseok’s eyes in retaliation.

 

It escalates too quickly, and the entire cottage is thrown around. Chairs knocking over, bags upturned, Kihyun crying and Baby stamping, starting to pace nervously. It’s all too much to process, until suddenly it isn’t, and Changkyun and Hyungwon snaps into motion.

 

Hyungwon shoves Hoseok away with his foot and picks Minhyuk up in the brief lull of the fight, but Minhyuk keeps struggling and biting, accidentally catching the skin on Hyungwon’s exposed forearm, and it’s enough to draw blood. It doesn’t stop Hoseok though, who starts jumping after Minhyuk even as he ascends into the air, and he catches Minhyuk’s feet with enough force to pull it down slightly, and Minhyuk shrieks.

 

Throughout the ruckus, Changkyun tries to calm Baby down and guide her away from the dogs, but Minhyuk’s sudden yelp sends her reeling, dragging Changkyun backwards with her, almost trampling Kihyun down in the process before he dashes away and crashes into a wall. Jooheon scoops him up and out of harm’s way, but his agitated movements do nothing to ease Baby’s nerves, and Hoseok is still jumping after Minhyuk while Hyungwon tries to keep the two separate.

 

Hyunwoo minds the remainder of the fire, and feels ridiculously unhelpful, but also quite content to not be a part of the circus.

 

“Enough!” Jooheon shouts, more in the direction of the two pups by Hyungwon, and Kihyun whimpers a little in his arms, shaking, but at least he’s not hurt. “Calm the fuck down! You guys aren’t actually dogs, for fuck’s sake!”

 

“Hoseok, sit!” Hyungwon tries to order at the same time, but Hoseok just scowls at him, and no one knows exactly how much human brain capacity the pups have at the moment.

 

Miraculously, they do quiet down to a manageable sound level.

 

“What a mess,” Changkyun sighs and rubs a hand over Baby’s neck. She’s calmed down, just a little bit, after the puppies stopped barking and growling. But she still looks over Changkyun’s shoulder warily, looking ready to bolt and kick up a fuss again at the slightest indication of a fight.

 

“I think Hoseok didn’t like Minhyuk intruding on his food,” Hyungwon snorts. “Dominance thing. Of course he’s got to be the big fish.”

 

“Well, can they be civil right now?” Jooheon winces at Hoseok’s bared teeth and Minhyuk’s struggles. It doesn’t look like they’ll go back to playing if Hyungwon puts Minhyuk back down, but it’s not like he can carry him around all night either.

 

He glances down at Kihyun. He’s either the most boring or the easiest pup he’s ever met (as of today, he’s met three) and is currently slumped against Jooheon’s neck, idly lapping at his collarbone with a tiny, warm tongue. It tickles.

 

“If they’re going to behave like animals, we’ll have to treat them like animals,” Hyungwon retorts and nods towards his backpack. “I have some braided rope in there. We could fashion collars out of those, although we could try scolding them if they keep it up. Not sure who they’ve appointed pack leader, but it should be alright with anyone of us, I reckon.”

 

 

“Okay,” Changkyun nods, agreeing. “Okay. So what do we do now?”

 

“Is the horse okay now?”

 

“No horses here, but Baby is calming down steadily. She’s a strong gal.”

 

“Right, okay.” Hyungwon pauses and glances around the room. “If you can take Hoseok over in that corner, I’ll keep Minhyuk here, and then we try to pound in the message that they’re actually human and need to behave. Hopefully there is some semblance of sensibility left in them, maybe we’ll be able to reignite that spark. It’s worth a shot, and if nothing else, it’ll calm them down.”

 

“What about Kihyun?” Jooheon pipes up. “Should I…?”

 

“Sure,” Hyungwon snorts as Changkyun starts dragging Hoseok away. “If you want to have that conversation with him, go ahead.”

 

“I don’t – “ Jooheon starts, and glances down at Kihyun. He knows nothing about dogs, and Kihyun seems to be fine on his own.  “You don’t need a reprimand, do you?”

 

Kihyun yawns.

 

“No, I didn’t think so.”

 

Meanwhile, Hyunwoo is just bewildered at the entire situation. It’s a relief that everyone else in the room seems to have some sort of idea about how to fix this, because his mind is literally blank, skirting somewhere in between stew and sleep.

 

At least it’s amusing.

 

Perhaps a little bit surprising, Hyungwon’s idea works, and Minhyuk and Hoseok, while skirting around each other for the rest of the night, do not start another war. Minhyuk still has a little limp from where Hoseok bit his foot earlier, but he doesn’t seem to mind it too much, bouncing and leaping around the cottage freely anyway. Kihyun promptly goes to sleep in Changkyun’s lap when he falls down into a corner, exhausted, although Hoseok doesn’t seem content to let him stay there, frequently nipping at him and whining by Changkyun’s knees until he relents and comes out to play. Minhyuk busies himself with Hyungwon, even though his efforts are mostly ignored.

 

As it turns out, puppies sleep a lot. And after running circles around each other four hours, the three puppies more or less drop down on the spot at some point during the evening, and their keepers let out a mutual sigh of relief.

 

“Well thank the heavens,” Hyungwon groans and starts fidgeting with his blankets. “I’m ready to crash myself. Shouldn’t they be back to normal soon?”

 

“Evidently not,” Jooheon shrugs. “Temporary is a relatively… Vague term.”

 

“Well, let’s pray for our good fortune. Good night!”

 

“Good night!” Hyunwoo agrees from his corner, and Jooheon soon echoes the sentiment as he blows out the candle and huddles beneath his covers.

 

“’Night..” Changkyun mumbles, and soon enough there is a small, warm weight settling by his shoulder.

 

He smiles.

 

It’s not really that bad to have your best friends turned into puppies sometimes.

 

Sometimes they get cuddly and adorable.

 

Sometimes –

 

He falls asleep to soft snores and rapid breaths.

 

Come morning, Changkyun is awoken to a shuffling weight on his chest, followed by warm huffs of air and a wet tongue across his face.

 

“Wha – “

 

It takes him a moment to remember, because surely neither Baby nor anyone from their group would wake him up by _licking him_ – and then it comes back to him, the events from yesterday, the artefact, his friends becoming _dogs._

 

“I hate everything…” He moans and peels his eyes open to see Minhyuk’s large, black eyes staring down at him happily. Of course it had to be Minhyuk. Of course. Who bloody else.

 

A small bark pulls Minhyuk’s attention from Changkyun’s nose, and he whips around to poke at the displeased lump of black fur at Changkyun’s feet. It isn’t surprising, because Kihyun had proven to be an extremely clingy puppy, making up for the embarrassment of their predicament (embarrassment? But he’s _adorable_ ) by hiding away in Changkyun’s personal bubble. Except that didn’t help much when Hoseok kept insisting on pulling him out to play.

 

It’s a good thing Kihyun has always had the temper of a small, angry dog, regardless of form.

 

He is currently expressing this temper through a glare and the hint of a snarl towards Minhyuk, presumably from disrupting his sleep. Minhyuk, however, seems unconcerned yips at Kihyun before leaping out of the way from tiny swinging paws. Yips again, jumps to Kihyun’s other side and repeats the noise to get a rise from him.

 

It’s like watching an extremely dumb child poke a hornet’s nest.

 

Changkyun considers pulling them apart forcibly, but then again, it’s too early for this shit, and they’re actually rational adults, so they should be able to interact civilly, even in the wee hours of the morning. They managed yesterday, they should be able to manage today as well.

 

‘Should’ being the operative word here.

 

“Minhyuk, leave him alone,” Changkyun groans and makes a half-hearted attempt at putting his foot between the two puppies.

 

Wrong move, because Minhyuk ends up attacking Changkyun’s wiggling toes happily instead.

 

“Ow – Minhyuk, stop that! Minhyuk!”

 

Minhyuk is not an obedient puppy.

 

Luckily for Changkyun, his distress is noticed by Kihyun, who, rather than going back to sleep, decides to help by threatening Minhyuk through high-pitched barks before moving on to bite his tail. It does the trick, making Minhyuk yelp and tumble off Changkyun’s foot, and suddenly the two of them are rolling around on the floor in a mess of light and dark fur and teeth and claws.

 

It’s kind of cute.

 

But mostly, it’s too early for this.

 

“Even as a dog, he’s protective of you,” Hyungwon grumbles from the corner, and when Changkyun sits up, he sees the hunter trying to bury himself beneath his blankets. But Minhyuk and Kihyun are making a ruckus, tumbling around and crashing into things while making a various growling, barking or shrieking noises.

 

“What?” Changkyun frowns and looks at Hyungwon. Or, at least, the vaguely Hyungwon-shaped lump under all of the blankets. “He’s a guard dog, of course he is territorial.”

 

Baby, upon seeing her master awake, shakes her head and nudges Jooheon with her hoof.

 

“That’s not – “ Hyungwon starts, but the rest of his words are swallowed by his covers.

 

Changkyun rolls his eyes and shoves his blanket away. Minhyuk and Kihyun are still fighting, and it sounds increasingly violent, if not outright hostile. Kihyun’s aggressive, but high-pitched barks mix with Minhyuk’s cries and snarls, but he’s got the size advantage, and Changkyun doesn’t trust them to resolve this on their own.

 

“Knock it off, guys,” he mumbles and crouches in the vicinity of their battlefield. Which is, somewhere near the fireplace. Where Hyunwoo is sleeping.

 

Hyunwoo, however, doesn’t seem too put off by the raging pups, merely sitting up and ruffling his hair silently. He looks as sleepy as any of them, but even through his bleary eyes there is a tint of fondness as he watches the early morning scuffle.

 

Jooheon, on the other hand, looks like he hates the world and glares at the pups with every ounce of hatred he can muster. Which, admittedly, isn’t much, but it makes him look a little bit more intimidating than a wet kitten.

 

Changkyun briefly wonders if the artefact would have turned Jooheon into a kitten.

 

Then he wonders what sort of animal he would be.

 

A warthog? Chicken? Wolf, or maybe a pony, like Baby?

 

Or this might be a puppy-only thing. He can’t really say, doesn’t know enough about magical…. Stuff. Maybe he should ask Kihyun later.

 

Provided Kihyun ever gets a functioning, human mouth again.

 

He did say it was temporary, right?

 

“Can you please…” He wiggles a hand between the pups’ bellies and holds Kihyun back by the chest while trying to get a hold of Minhyuk’s scruff. “Play nice, okay? You’re gonna bite eyes out at this rate.”

 

Kihyun, still wiggling, looks like he wouldn’t really mind doing that, though Minhyuk sits back on his hind legs and whines at the loss of his playmate. Or adversary, depending on who you ask.

 

“Minhyuk, come here,” Hyunwoo says then, surprising Changkyun. “I’ll cuddle you.”

 

The house falls quiet, and for a second or two no one makes a move. Then –

 

“Am I fucking awake or dreaming.” Hyungwon’s voice sounds annoyed and just a little bit betrayed at the lack of logic in the universe.

 

Minhyuk, on the other hand, doesn’t need further prompting before bouncing over to Hyunwoo, almost driving him down against the floor again with his eagerness. And Hyunwoo - Hyunwoo actually _smiles,_ wide and open and honest, and it’s a sight as warming as it is surprising.

 

Hyunwoo, who is usually stoic at best, with a reserved fondness only showing through carefully hooded eyes and subtle actions, and who had only watched the puppies from afar last night. But now – now he is openly grinning and running gentle hands over Minhyuk’s fur. It’s endearing, and feels like an awaited insight into the true person behind the soldier. Like he finally feels safe, trusting not only them, but also their surroundings, their environment, their world. Finally slipping away from worries he may or may not have silently carried for years.

 

Maybe the puppies weren’t so bad after all.

 

But it is a little bit problematic when half your company has turned into relatively helpless pups, Changkyun laments and looks down at Kihyun, currently licking the parched skin on his knuckles. Especially since Hoseok is one of their best fighters, Kihyun a splendid mage, and Minhyuk….

 

Well, Minhyuk is Minhyuk.

 

Minhyuk is always sort of a puppy, but at least like this, he gets cuddles more freely. He’s lying on his back now, in front of Hyunwoo’s feet waiting for belly rubs, which Hyunwoo seems to give out more than freely.

 

A little shove to his shoulder pulls Changkyun’s attention from the unlikely couple and he looks up at Jooheon’s sleepy face. It’s like seeing a small child, hair mussed and eyes squinting almost into his cheeks, but Jooheon frowns, and that keeps Changkyun from pointing out his appearance.

 

For now.

 

“Where is Hoseok?” Jooheon asks and rubs his eyes.

 

Changkyun opens his mouth to answer, and then realizes that he doesn’t actually know. Minhyuk is playing with Hyunwoo. Kihyun is with him. The two of them were fighting this morning, but Hoseok never came over to join, or even inspect the ruckus –

 

Where _is_ Hoseok?

 

“Uhm,” Changkyun curls his tongue in contemplation. “That’s a good question.”

 

Jooheon’s frown deepends. “When was the last time you saw him?”

 

“Yesterday night?”

 

“Shit,” Jooheon sighs. “Guys, have you seen Hoseok?”

 

Hyunwoo shakes his head, still focused on the pup in front of him – making him roll around, feeding him tiny strips of dried meat when he does a neat trick or listens to Hyunwoo’s command.  It’s impossible to see that the dog was once human.

 

Changkyun is starting to suspect that Minhyuk was a dog, and someone magicked him into a human shortly before they met.

 

But that’s not the issue that needs investigation right now.

 

“Hyungwon, do you – “

 

“No, I’m sleeping. Bye.”

 

“Is he still in the cottage?”

 

“He would have come out already, right? Is there anywhere to hide?” Jooheon stands up and looks around. Apart from the pile of blankets covering Hyungwon, there are not a lot of hiding spots large enough for Hoseok the puppy. The tables have no pieces of cloth or hanging plates to create a closed illusion, no big furniture creating corners and secret caves, no cupboards to sneak into. The stairs could have held potential caves, but the lowest step is too narrow and too high for Hoseok to climb unto without making any noise.

 

The door –

 

It’s not exactly open, which is probably why they didn’t notice immediately, but there is a small sliver of light streaming in from where the door has been pushed outwards, but not completely closed.

 

Not a major feat, certainly one accomplishable for a puppy as smart and athletic such as Hoseok.

 

Minhyuk, on the other hand….

 

“He must have gone out,” Changkyun states, pointing at the door, and Jooheon doesn’t even bother stifling a groan. It gets him a displeased snort and shove from Baby.

 

Hyungwon sits up, reluctantly, glances towards the door. His eyes are swollen and mostly shut, but the irritation is clear as day on his face.

 

“I’m not going out there.”

 

“It’s not even raining anymore!”

 

“I’m sleepy.”

 

“You’re always sleepy.”

 

“I’ll go look for him,” Changkyun interrupts Hyungwon and Jooheon, looks towards Hyunwoo. He’s still busy entertaining Minhyuk, and they seem to be just fine where they are. He’s not going to meddle into that too much. Hyunwoo is an asset, but Minhyuk would only make the search harder in his current state.

 

But it’s not like Hoseok could have gotten far.

 

“How much of a track dog are you?” He asks into Kihyun’s fur, blowing warm air on his skin, and the puppy squirms a little in irritation. Changkyun laughs.

 

“Not much, then. You’re coming with me anyway.”

 

And, to his credit, Kihyun does come along with him without complains. Though, considering the fact that he’s currently perched on Changkyun’s arm a good four feet off the ground, it’s not like he has much of a choice.

 

Changkyun makes sure to close the door behind him to keep Minhyuk locked inside, and looks around uncertainly. Where do you start, looking for lost puppies? Where would Hoseok have gone?

 

He puts Kihyun down on the ground. “Go on, then. Run. Walk. Whatever, just move forward, please? Hopefully you and Hoseok think alike?”

 

Kihyun cocks his head and looks up at Changkyun.

 

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

 

Kihyun cocks his head again.

 

Changkyun sighs.

 

Taking Kihyun’s behaviour compared to the other two pups into consideration, he had assumed that Kihyun maintained a little bit more of a human mind than the others. But apparently it’s not enough to make him fully operational as a telepathic dog.

 

Which isn’t too far-fetched, anyway – Changkyun’s heard about telepathic dogs down in the South. They might just be a myth or really clever, but Changkyun’s never met one and can’t say, unfortunately.

 

That’s irrelevant.

 

“Where should we start, Kihyun?” Even as he asks, Changkyun straightens and start moving around the cabin, away from the main road and towards the thicket of the woods. Kihyun follows eagerly, traipsing to follow Changkyun’s longer paces over the thick grass.

 

Where would he go if he was an adventurous puppy, who was actually a centuries old elf feuding with an imitation mage?

 

Changkyun’s imagination isn’t quite vivid enough for that.

 

They walk in small circles, enlarging them slightly to cover more area without missing any hiding spots – Hoseok is a large puppy, but still relatively small compared to all the bushes and trees and boulders and everything else in this goddamn forest.

 

At some point, Kihyun stops and starts sniffing into the air.

 

Changkyun almost doesn’t notice, too busy looking for grey fur rather than paying attention to the sounds his companion makes, but then Kihyun bolts to the side through a patch of copses, and  Changkyun has no choice but to follow.

 

He’s making his way through the short, sharp branches when Kihyun lets out a bark, and then there is a low, vague noise, almost like a groan. By the time Changkyun finds him, Kihyun’s already climbing on top of a body, a body Changkyun recognizes –

 

_Hoseok._

Human Hoseok.

 

“What is…” Hoseok mumbles, moves his hand up to swat at the little fluffball licking his face. He opens his eyes when his fingers make contact with the soft fur, and then he’s already smiling. “Hello, Kihyunnie.”

 

“Hoseok!” Changkyun says dumbly, staring down at the elf curled in on himself at the base of a large oak. It’s strange, seeing him as himself again, half-crumpled on the damp forest floor and scratching Kihyun’s ear happily. At Changkyun’s exclamation, he looks up.

 

“Changkyun, good morning!” He starts to sit up, keeping one hand on Kihyun to hold him steady against his chest. “What’s up? Where are the others?”

 

“The oth – “ Changkyun shakes his head. “Why are you out here? How did… When did you turn back?”

 

“Turn back?” Hoseok repeats dumbly and frowns, rubbing a finger across Kihyun’s spine. “What are you talking about?”

 

“When did you return… Hoseok, what do you remember?”

 

“Yesterday, we got to the cottage, and…” Hoseok trails off, and his confused expression is replaced by a horrified one. He looks down at Kihyun, who looks back at him with big eyes. “I was a dog!”

 

“You were a dog,” Changkyun confirms with a serious nod. “Got any memories of that?”

 

“Vaguely,” Hoseok admits slowly as they begin to walk back. “I fought with Minhyuk and ate bread and… Then I wanted to go out? I don’t know. It’s weird. Feels like a dream, honestly.”

 

“You’re not alone in that feeling.” The dryness is tangible in Changkyun’s voice. “Why did you turn back and not Kihyun and Minhyuk, though? You touched the artefact at the same time, right?”

 

“Well yeah…” Hoseok shrugs. “Maybe it’s random? Has to do with how far away you are from the artefact? That would make sense if it’s supposed to protect something.”

 

“Kihyun’s still a puppy, though,” Changkyun shakes his head and points at Kihyun. “I don’t have any other suggestions. Maybe Minhyuk will be a human when we get back.”

 

Minhyuk is decidedly not a human when they get back.

 

He is still a bouncy, happy, barking pup attending his new favourite person in the world, Hyunwoo.

 

And if Hyungwon looks slightly displeased at that, no one would point it out.

 

Since the weather is more cooperative today, they decide to pack up and leave, splitting Kihyun and Minhyuk’s bags between them until their predicament resolves itself. As it hopefully will – it did so with Hoseok, much to Jooheon’s pleasure -

 

(“ – you actually looked really scary, like a wolf or something – “)

 

\- and the company’s ease.

 

Baby, in particular, is really happy to move away from the cottage, and no one looks back at that cursed artefact. Hoseok gives the table a solid kick for good measure, and it doesn’t budge, but sure makes him feel better. The others are still not looking him fully in the eye, and address him awkwardly during their preparations.

 

He hopes it’s a side-effect that will pass.

 

On the bright side, Hoseok is absolutely enamoured with Kihyun and Minhyuk, and surprisingly, he gets along with the cream puppy much better than the human version of Minhyuk.

 

Which is a good thing, because halfway through their trek, Kihyun falls out of Changkyun’s arms, looking rumpled and confused and very much human.

 

Minhyuk, who preferred walking to being carried, is on him in a second, but Hoseok is just as quick, and tears him away for Kihyun to regain his bearings.

 

Kihyun is not happy.

 

He is very unhappy with the Minhyuk-puppy.

 

He does not admit how much he enjoyed the cuddles he received as a soft ball of fur.

 

Because grumps don’t do that.

 

Come evening, Minhyuk is still a puppy, but at least one is more manageable than three, and by himself, Minhyuk is not that much different from usual. It is a little bit disconcerting and screws with their dynamic a little, but it’s also kind of enjoyable. Minhyuk is entertaining, and takes to Hyunwoo like a fish to water.

 

It makes Changkyun think they should get Hyunwoo a dog. Preferably one that’s exactly like Minhyuk.

 

On the second day, Minhyuk is still a dog.

 

And on the third.

 

And the fourth.

 

And the fifth.

 

“Sooo…” Jooheon starts as they distribute breakfast that morning. “Are we now officially a group of six people and one dog? Or…? Shouldn’t he turn back soon?”

 

“He should,” Kihyun shrugs, but he doesn’t seem too concerned about it. He doesn’t have anything else to say about the matter either.

 

From what Changkyun’s learned, he views Minhyuk’s prolonged state as a dog a well-earned retribution for turning them into dogs in the first place.

 

He can understand that.

 

For now, they’ll just have to wait and enjoy Minhyuk’s furry condition.

 

Ten days later, Minhyuk wakes up screaming and tries to bite his foot until Hyungwon points out to him that human anatomy doesn’t work like that.

 

Smirks emerge.

 

Angry shouts follow.

 

And nothing is ever peaceful for long.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuuuhhh i have no explanation for anything
> 
> this is why i write sad things. 
> 
> also, in case you were wondering, this is how i imagined  kihyun , hoseok  and  minhyuk. Halfway through i decided i wanted hoseok to be an aussie, but by then i couldn't be arsed to go back and change anything. also the elkhound is pretty damn masculine, so. 
> 
> i am so sorry for everything


End file.
